


Obsessed

by ASharksReadingGlasses



Series: Ghost in the NYC [5]
Category: Danny Phantom, Deadpool - All Media Types, Marvel Universe - Fandom, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, At least from the Marvel Universe, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Vlad Masters, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eye Shine, Friendship, Gen, Ghost Obsessions, Ghost Theory, Humor, Hurt Wade Wilson, M/M, Mild Descriptions of Panic Attack, Panic Attacks, Protective Danny Fenton, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Wade Wilson, Stalking, Swearing, Tapetum Lucidum, Temporary Hurt Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:27:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28092402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASharksReadingGlasses/pseuds/ASharksReadingGlasses
Summary: Vlad decides to ruin Danny's vacation by popping up in New York. Forced to spend the morning with him, Danny fears his nemesis is planning something that could hurt his family. It's a good thing that NYC is full of heroes, and even better that it's full of friends.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Peter Parker, Danny Fenton & Wade Wilson, Peter Parker/Wade Wilson
Series: Ghost in the NYC [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2045206
Comments: 125
Kudos: 965





	Obsessed

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick note in this version/universe s01e17: Maternal Instincts hasn't happened yet, so that is why Maddie is still okay with Vlad.
> 
> I'm writing Fido as gender neutral for now, but I might mess up once and a while. If you guys see something, please let me know so I can fix it. Thanks.

> **From: Unknown**
> 
> Hey, I stole this number from Peter
> 
> Don't tell him okay, I have an important question
> 
> **You have saved Unknown as Expired Puddle**
> 
> **To: Expired Puddle**
> 
> Wade
> 
> It is 4 in the morning
> 
> This better be urgent
> 
> **From: Expired Puddle**
> 
> ?Do ghosts have names
> 
> **To: Expired Puddle**
> 
> I'm going back to sleep
> 
> **From: Expired Puddle**
> 
> Come on Danny
> 
> I'm dying to know
> 
> **To: Expired Puddle**
> 
> That was horrible, even for me
> 
> And I'm almost dead
> 
> **From: Expired Puddle**
> 
> Pretty please
> 
> **To: Expired Puddle**
> 
> Shades don't really have names
> 
> Like I said before they can't talk and their awareness
> 
> is limited to 'I' and 'them'
> 
> The only ghosts I know of that have names are
> 
> specters, and it sounds like they name themselves
> 
> **From: Expired Puddle**
> 
> So what your saying is
> 
> ?It's okay if I name them Fido
> 
> **To: Expired Puddle**
> 
> They're not a dog Wade
> 
> **From: Expired Puddle**
> 
> ?It's a place holder name
> 
> **Typing...**
> 
> **Typing...**
> 
> **To: Expired Puddle**
> 
> All right, fine
> 
> Is Fido still visible? I didn't think I gave them
> 
> that much ectoplasm
> 
> **From: Expired Puddle**
> 
> No, they disappeared a while ago
> 
> But now that I'm more aware of them I can
> 
> sorta feel them I guess. They like to sit on
> 
> my shoulder or cuddle into my neck. It's
> 
> kinda distracting
> 
> **To: Expired Puddle**
> 
> Sorry
> 
> I didn't think they'd bother you that much
> 
> **From: Expired Puddle**
> 
> Don't worry about it home slice
> 
> It's cool
> 
> **To: Expired Puddle**
> 
> Well, if that's all the burning questions you
> 
> have, I'm going back to bed now
> 
> Talk to you later Wade
> 
> **From: Expired Puddle**
> 
> What!? But we haven't even exchanged
> 
> any embarrassing stories
> 
> **To: Expired Puddle**
> 
> Good night Wade
> 
> **From: Expired Puddle**
> 
> Eh :P you're no fun

* * *

Danny woke up to the sound of the hotel shower running, his eyes watery as he struggled to wake up. He turned over under the sheets to look at the nightstand, the digital clock reading 8:31 AM and Jazz's bed empty. Danny groaned and dragged a pillow over his head to muffle the sounds of Jazz in the shower, hoping to catch a few more winks before his phone alarm went off at nine. Just as he was about to drift off, someone was knocking at the hotel door. Danny pressed the pillow tighter over his head and snuggled deeper under the covers, hoping whoever was there would go away but the knocking continued after a moment.

"Danny!" Jazz shouted through the bathroom, "Get the door! It's probably Mom and Dad!"

Danny frowned as he pulled his head out from under the pillows and threw off the covers, rubbing his eyes as he got up and slinked to the door.

 _I don't remember making plans to have breakfast with them this morning,_ Danny thought as he unlatched the chain and opened the door.

"Morning, Danno!" Dad said, smiling way too brightly for this early in the morning. His Mom and Dad had traded in their hazmat jump suits for some nondescript shirts and plain jeans, but it was a little weird seeing them so normal.

"Hey, Dad," Danny yawned, brushing his bangs out of his eyes and moving aside to let his parents in.

"Danny, you're still in your pajamas," Mom scolded. "Did you just wake up?"

"Didn't know we were on a tight schedule," Danny yawned again, going to his suitcase at the end of his bed and yanking it on top of the covers. He unzipped the sides and pulled out some clean clothes; his favorite NASA t-shirt, a worn pair of jeans with hole in one of the knees, clean socks, and some underwear.

"You didn't get our text messages?" Mom asked. Danny thought back to yesterday, trying to remember; after lunch with his parents, they had split up again. Jazz had planned to visit the Museum of Modern Art, his parents went to the mall to buy a few phones and tablets they could cannibalize into new ghost tech, and Danny had headed to a movie theater close to the hotel to binge watch a few movies he had been meaning to see. It wasn't as fun without Sam and Tucker, but the look on one of the attendants face's when he finish two family sized popcorn bowls had been hilarious.

He had turned off his phone as soon as the previews for the first movie had started, and didn't turn it back on until he was out of the theater around 8:45 PM. Danny recalled seeing a few message notifications from his parents, but had assumed it was just one of their safety check-ins. He had responded without reading the message and headed back to the hotel room. He texted his friends for a few hours, asking if any troublesome ghosts had came through town since he had been gone. Luckily, nothing too bad had been spotted that they couldn't handle themselves. By the time they had given him a detailed run down, it was around ten and Danny decided to get some shut eye.

"Sorry," Danny apologized as he re-zipped his suit case and laid back on his bed. "I thought they were check-ins. What are we doing this morning?"

"We're having breakfast with my old college buddy, Vlad!" Dad announced happily.

" _We're what!?_ " Danny shouted, sitting up so fast he went dizzy.

"It was the strangest thing," Dad continued like Danny hadn't shouted to kingdom come, sitting down on Jazz's bed. "We bumped into each other on our way to the mall."

"Wow," Danny said sarcastically. "What a real coincidence."

"It really is," Mom smiled, sitting next to her husband. "He invited us for breakfast as an apology for what happened in Wisconsin. Oh, it'll be so nice to catch up with him again!"

"Yeah," Danny grimaced. _More like torture._

* * *

Breakfast had been a nightmare. Danny and Jazz had mostly been quiet as the adults talked; Jazz out of politeness as she listened and Danny out of pettiness while he sulked. It was gross watching Vlad subtly hit on his mom and insult his dad. The insults seemed to roll off his dad's back and he was even able to turn it around on Vlad a couple of times by making it a way to compliment his mother, which was sweet but still gross. Danny tried to put a stop to it with a sly dig that only Vlad would get, but the plan backfired when the smug fruitloop had convinced his parents that it would be a good idea for Vlad to tag along with Danny around the city.

Now here he was, slouched with his arms crossed on a bench at Flushing Meadows Park while Vlad sat on the other side in an all black pressed suit as he sipped smugly on a coffee. Danny had been looking forward to possibly meeting up with Wade and Peter later that day, but he wasn't going anywhere near them unless he was sure Vlad had no possible way of tailing him.

"So what trouble have you gotten into since you've been here, Little Badger," Vlad asked as he crossed his legs.

"None of your business," Danny snapped, clenching his arms.

"Oh, come now Daniel," Vlad responded in that know-it-all, mocking tone of his. "You haven't noticed anything _off_? Feeling a bit peckish and tired lately?"

 _He knows_ , Danny realized, feeling something sink in his stomach. _He knows I'm not at the top of my game right now. Shit. I need to lose him. I need help_. Danny stayed silent and grabbed his phone out of his pants pocket and opened his text messages.

"It's rude to text when someone else is talking to you, Daniel," Vlad stated, taking another mouthful of coffee.

"Yeah?" Danny responded hotly while he typed, making sure Vlad couldn't see who he was texting. "Well last time I checked, we aren't friends, or even on good terms, _Plasmius_." Vlad's eyes flashed red and he smirked darkly.

> **To: Arachnophobia**
> 
> Hey quick question. You have any suggestions for
> 
> getting rid of a creep that's been tailing me?
> 
> **...** **Call from Arachnophobia**

Danny blinked and glanced at Vlad before answering the call.

"Where are you?" Peter asked, his voice dead serious and boding no arguments. Danny gulped and tried to play it cool, hoping Peter would understand what he was doing.

"Hey Tuck," Danny responded, "Kinda had a change of plans. I'm at the South side of Flushing Meadows Park right now. I won't have time to visit Stark Tower today, buddy; sorry."

"We're on our way," Peter stated, catching on quickly. "They're right next to you, aren't they. How long have you been followed? Any description you can give me?" Danny could hear the whoosh of air and the "twip" of Peter's webs, as well as Wade's voice in the background. 

"It's been a pretty bad morning since breakfast," Danny replied, keeping Vlad in his periphery. "But you know how Vlad is." Vlad whipped his head towards Danny at the mention of his name and glared.

"Vlad? Danny, is that his name?" Peter asked frantically. "Do you know who's following you?"

"Yeah," Danny answered casually, "I'll explain what happened to you later."

"You're doing great Danny," Peter reassured him. "It's going to be okay. I'm almost there and Wade is right behind me." Danny felt sweat gather on his brow; the park wasn't that crowded and it would be easy for Vlad to overshadow Peter or Wade if they got too close. He didn't want to take that chance.

"Tucker," Danny said frantically, sitting up straight. "Don't even think about touching my computer!" There was a pause over the line as Peter tried to decode his meaning and Danny could feel Vlad's gaze as he started to pay attention.

"Danny, I'm sorry," Peter answered, confused. "I don't know what your trying to tell me."

"Tucker, I mean it!" Danny tried again. " _Do not go anywhere near_ my computer! If you do, _something bad will happen_ and you'll fry the circuits. You want to give me suggestions, do it from you're phone."

"Okay, all right, I got it Danny," Perter replied, before letting out a shaky breath. "Shit. Okay, gotta think. C'mon Peter, you got this. _You got this_. Danny, here's what's gonna happen; I'm going to get in touch with Wade and see if he has any ideas, but _I'm not gonna hang up or drop the call_ , understand? Just give me two minutes tops, and I'll be back on the line. All right?" Danny swallowed shakily but tried to keep his cool.

"Yeah, Tuck, I got," Danny said as he slumped back into the bench, trying to loosen the tension in his neck and shoulders. "I'll wait. Go ahead and take a look." His phone clicked to a holding tone as Peter switched calls and Danny anxiously started to count the seconds.

"What are you playing at, Little Badger?" Vlad asked suspiciously and Danny shifted his eyes toward him.

"I'm not playing at anything," Danny responded snappishly, clutching the phone tightly to his ear and wishing Peter would _hurry the fuck up_! "I'm trying to do something _fun_ on my vacation while you're being a creepy stalker. Sorry if I wanted to find something that would fit your delicate sensibilities." Vlad glared at the comment, crushing his empty coffee cup in his hand before smiling like fox and calmly depositing it in the trashcan beside the bench.

"All right Daniel," Vlad said as he brushed imaginary dust from his slacks. "I'll play your little game, for now. But whatever you're planing, it won't work." Danny shivered in a mixture of trepidation and resentment and was about to retort when Peter finally came back on the line.

"Danny, are you there?" Peter asked anxiously.

"Yeah, Tuck, I'm here," Danny answered, "What have you got for me?"

"Here's the game plan," Peter explained, his voiced strained. "The nearest subway entrance is at the corner of 78th Crescent, Union Turnpike and Queens Blvd; I'll be at one of the surrounding buildings. Do what you can to get down to the subway and lose him there. I'll keep my phone open so if you have trouble you can call me. If he tries to stop you, _make a god damn scene, you hear me!_ Scream, yell for help, scratch his face off, I don't care - just give me a reason to get down there. Do you understand so far?"

"The first option sounds good," Danny replied, hating the possibility of Peter getting that close to Vlad. "Where do I go from there?"

"Ride the subway for a few stops and then call Wade; he'll have a taxi that will take you back to the safe house. You ready to do this?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, Tuck," Danny said as licked his lips. "I'll talk to you later."

"You got this Danny," Peter encouraged, then the line clicked dead. Danny snapped his phone shut and put it back in his pocket before he pushed himself from the bench.

"What droll activity have you found to amuse yourself with Daniel?" Vlad asked as he gracefully stood up.

"Natural History Museum," Danny answered, keeping his response quick and natural. "They have a space exhibit I wanted to see." Danny took a moment to casually check his surroundings for indicators where to go. Luckily, the park had signs indicating intersections that encompassed the park and the crossway he needed wasn't too far.

"Ah, yes; your astronaut fantasy," Vlad snorted, walking at Danny's side. "How trite." Danny clenched his hands and flushed hotly as his eyes started to glow. He knew that was exactly what Vlad wanted, but he was basically ridiculing his childhood dream.

 _Asshole_ , Danny thought. They made their way to the intersection without much fuss, a tense silence between them as Danny struggled to force his eyes back to normal. Once they made it to the intersection, Danny made a show of looking at street signs as if he was orientating himself while he was secretly looking for Peter on any of the roofs. When he spotted a dot of red poised at the ledge of a building, Danny felt the knots in his chest loosen with relief and his stomach swoop in anxiety. He started to make his way towards the subway entrance when Vlad clamped a hand on his shoulder like a constrictor strangling its prey.

"Where do you think you're going, Daniel?" Vlad asked pointedly. Danny swallowed before answering.

"Subway's quicker than a taxi," Danny said trying to get out from Vlad's grip, but he just clamped down tighter. "You want to spend an hour in a cramped car during prime NYC rush hour?"

"And risk losing you to the crowds? Why, I'd never forgive myself!" Vlad grinned and started dragging Danny to closer to the street to hail a cab. "Nice try, Daniel, but not good enough." Vlad hauled him past the subway entrance and stopped at the curb somewhat close by to get a cab; he probably did it to rub it in Danny's face, but Danny could use that to his advantage. If Vlad thought he didn't have any tricks up his sleeve, then he was in for a surprise. Danny waited until Vlad's guard was down and he loosened his grip on Danny's shoulder as he was opening the cab door. Danny pushed Vlad's hand off his shoulder and twisted back towards the subway entrance, swinging around the guardrails and jumping down the steps to the mezzanine. He knew if Vlad didn't want a concerned cab driver calling the police, he would stay behind to possess the cabbie briefly to erase some of their memories, which gave him some time.

 _"Car 456 arriving in two minutes. Car 456 arriving in two minutes. Next stop, Downtown Briarwood. Next stop, Downtown Briarwood,"_ The intercom stated. The subway mezzanine wasn't as crowded as the one Danny had seen in the Bronx, but that was probably because of the area; most people were visiting attractions during spring break, not public parks. That was bad news for Danny, as he was hoping for more cover in a throng of moving bodies. He nearly crashed into the ticket machine, feeding it a couple dollars while anxiously checking over his shoulder. The few people that were coming up from the platform and heading toward the exit watched him warily, wonder what the hell his problem was, but Danny just concentrated on punching in the right ticket code. As soon as the machine spat out his Single Ride Card, Danny grabbed it and rushed to the turnstiles, trying to go at a hurried pace so he wouldn't attracted attention. Just as he was about to reach the turnstiles, he looked over his shoulder when he heard the obnoxious click of Vlad's leather shoes and saw him half way down the stairs, walking at a brisk but casual pace.

_"Car 456 now arriving. Car 456 now arriving. Departure in one minute. Departure in one minute. Next stop, Downtown Briarwood. Next stop, Downtown Briarwood."_

Danny's breath hitched as his instincts to go invisible and intangible pulled at his ghost core, but he grit his teeth and reeled in his ghostliness as he turned forward. Holding his MetroCard in his hand, Danny walked as calmly as he could to the turnstiles and swiped it through the card reader, only to jerk back when the revolving arms stayed locked. Danny panicked and swiped the card again when he noticed the card was facing the wrong way. _Oh, come on!_ As he flipped the card around, Danny listened to the sounds of Vlad's steps getting closer. He swiped the card frantically for the third time, and swore he briefly felt Vlad's hand graze his shoulder as the turnstile gave way. Danny didn't bother turning around, afraid that Vlad might just turn intangible and go through the turnstile. He dashed down the stairs to the subway platform, making sure to follow the signs for the Downtown side and nearly tripped on the last step. He stumbled briefly before he recovered and fled into the first open subway car he saw. He skidded into the nearly empty car, earning a few looks from the other passengers as he gripped one of the poles to swing himself into a seat. He glanced up through the window just as Vlad made it to the top of the stairway.

_"Car 456 now departing. Car 456 now departing. Next stop, Downtown Briarwood. Next stop, Downtown Briarwood."_

Danny breathed a sigh of relief as the car left the station and slumped into his seat, his head hitting the back rest of the chair. He took a moment to relax before he dug his phone out of his back pocket and dialed Wade's number.

"Hey Wade," Danny said when the call connected, "I'm heading to the Briarwood Metro station."

* * *

Vlad smirked ask he headed up to the exit way, keeping tight control not to shift his eyes as his core thrummed in excitement. It looked like his little expedition to New York would be incredibly more lively than he was expecting. _Well done, Little Badger. Well done._

* * *

Peter was waiting for them when Danny and Wade made it back to the safe house in the late morning, hauling Danny in by his shirt when he opened the door; Peter was still in his Spider suit with his mask discarded on the table and Wade was in a similar outfit that he wore yesterday, his hood still up.

"Are you hurt?" Peter asked, scanning Danny from head to toe and searching for injuries. "Did you use your powers? Do you need food?" Danny shook his head as Wade walked in and closed the door behind him, Fido (still invisible for now) anxiously flitting between Wade and Danny as they let out nervous chirps.

"No, I'm fine," Danny replied, lifting his hand up to pet Fido on their next pass. "I'm a little shaken up, but not hurt." Peter let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders losing tension and his head slumping forward slightly.

"Good," Peter said, rubbing Danny's shoulders. "That's good." Then Peter smiled tightly, gripping his upper arms a little harder and Danny froze. He knew that look; he knew that look _intimately_. That was the look on his parents faces when they caught him in a lie or found out about his latest test grade.

 _Ah, shit,_ Danny thought.

" _What in the actual fuck, Danny!_ _"_ Peter yelled and Fido zipped to hide in one of Wade's hoodie pockets, their eyes peaking out over the hem. "You have been in New York for a grand total of _five_ days! And in that time, you have been nearly mugged, stabbed, almost murdered, and _now_ you're being stalked - by a person who you know the identity of!"

"I just want to point out," Danny piped up, trying to calm Peter down. "None of those were my fault." Peter groaned, cradling his head in his hands after _literally peeling_ them from Danny's shirt as they made a Velcro "fwech" sound. Next to them, Wade whistled, making Fido perk a little more out of the hoodie pocket.

"Wow," Wade commented as he crossed his legs and lean against the door. "You got Peter to swear." Peter whipped his head up to glare at him.

"Wade," Peter ground out as he clenched his hands, "You are a great and wonderful friend, but you make another comment like that and I am going to _lose it_." Wade mimed zipping his mouth shut and put his hands in his front pocket, which enticed Fido to curl their body around Wade's hands. "Seriously, Danny - you gotta have worse luck than I do, and that's saying something!" Peter continued, and Danny wisely kept his mouth shut about how his shitty luck left him as a half-dead ghost kid; he figured Peter didn't need that stress in his life right now. "Are we going to have to worry about him or your parents sending out an Amber Alert for you?" Peter asked. Danny thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"No," Danny decided, "My parents would never forgive him for losing me in the first place, especially if I told them a bull shit version of events. He needs them to trust him; Vlad won't risk it."

"What's this guy's deal anyway?" Wade asked as he pushed himself off the door and sat at the table, Fido swirling around his arm until they were perched at his shoulder.

"Do you want the short version or the long version?" Danny replied as he walked towards the table.

"How about the version that makes sense," Peter pleaded quietly, pushing the other chair towards Danny while Wade snickered.

"Okay," Danny said as he sat down. "He's a crazy fruitloop that's obsessed with killing my Dad and brainwashing my mom, sister, and I into being his perfect family." The apartment was quieter than a graveyard as Peter brought one of his hands to his mouth to hide his horror, shock, and disbelief while his other hand held his elbow.

"Well," Wade said matter-of-factly, "That made complete sense to me." Fido, the absolute _little shit,_ nodded decisively at Wade's shoulder.

~~_(Although, neither Peter nor Wade could see it. It was probably a good thing Peter couldn't see it.)_ ~~

"Wade," Peter begged brokenly, "Wade, please don't." Danny grinned at their antics before putting his elbows on the table and beckoning Fido to his hands, the little shade bounding forward and burrowing into Danny's touch as he pet them.

"His name is Vlad Masters," Danny elaborated, rubbing a finger onto the top of Fido's head as the shade vibrated happily. "And he's a halfa like me that goes by the name Plasmius. He was friends with my mother and father when they were in college. There was a malfunction with one of my parents' prototypes that caused a pretty bad accident; he ended up stuck in a hospital for years."

"Okay," Wade said leaning back in his chair so that he was balancing on the back legs. "So why is he obsessed with you and your family?"

"He kinda resents my dad for marrying my mom," Danny answered, continuing to shower Fido in attention by squishing their face gently and then rubbing their cheeks. "He had a crush on her since they met; if the accident hadn't happened they might've started dating. Turning into a halfa just made it into his ghost obsession."

"What do you mean by that?" Peter asked after he moved his hand away from his mouth and straightened in attention. Danny flinched and Fido chirped worriedly; Danny hadn't meant for that to slip.

"Fully realized specters have themes," Danny said after he swallowed and licked his lips, slowly continuing to cuddle with Fido. "Something they obsess over that keeps their identity and personality together. There's a reason my parents called it an obsession. If something disturbs what a ghost perceives as its obsession, they _have_ to fix it; it's like a compulsion. Obsessions can be subtle or obvious; a person, a place, or a concept. There's a pretty harmless ghost that haunts the post office at home that obsesses over boxes. There's another that pops up all over town when a menu that's been the same for thirty years changes because she's obsessed with preserving the culinary history of the town. What ever it is, it drives a specter's existence." Danny took a moment to take a breath and collect his thoughts.

"What's your obsession?" Wade asked cautiously. Danny curled into himself, hugging Fido to his chest as he laid his head on his arms; he couldn't bring himself to look at Peter or Wade.

"I-, I don't really know," Danny answered honestly. "I try not to think about it. Tucker joked that it would be about space because I wanted to be an astronaut when I was younger. Sam thought it was about being a hero when I started fighting ghosts, but fighting ghosts doesn't feel like a compulsion. It's something I want to do and enjoy sometimes, sure. But I'm not compelled to fight a ghost every time I see one. Usually, I only fight when ghosts are aggressive or cause trouble." It was quiet for a second as Wade and Peter processed what Danny had told them while Danny continued to cuddle with Fido, the shade chittering in comfort.

"Why don't you like to think about it?" Peter finally asked. Danny flinched again, slightly more violent than the last time.

"Vlad is considered a halfa by other ghosts, but he's more _ghostly_ than I am," Danny answered as he shivered. "I just-, I don't want to let go a part of my humanity to be a stronger ghost, because I know what kind of monster it'll make me if I do. I'm scared that if I develop an obsession I'll be more ghost than human."

"Is that why you're getting all handsy with Fido?" Wade asked. "You're scared?" Danny lifted his head out of his arms in confusion as Fido made a questioning sound, straightening in his chair before he realized that Peter and Wade couldn't see Fido. To them, it looked like he was playing with the air; Danny blushed as he buried his face back in his arms, squishing Fido tighter.

"Yeah," Danny moaned out. "I fidget with my hands when I'm nervous."

"It's okay home slice," Wade replied casually while Peter smiled fondly. "Fido seems like the cuddly type. And Peter likes to play with his webs when he's bored, the spidery weirdo." Peter jolted as he let out an embarrassed gasp.

"Wade!" Peter whined, punching his shoulder. "You said you wouldn't tell anyone about that!" Wade huffed and crossed his arms.

"You literally made a web in the middle of a sewer to act like a huge trip wire in order to catch a giant, mutant lizard man," Wade scoffed. "Admit it, Pete; you got some spidery obsessions of your own hiding around in that brain of yours." Peter made a strangled sound as he blushed, Fido making little hiccuping sounds as he attempted to laugh. Danny lifted his head and smiled, grateful that Wade lifted the oppressive atmosphere while steering the topic away from something that made Danny uncomfortable. Once Peter's embarrassment faded, they continued on a more serious topic.

"What about this Vlad guy has you scared, Danny?" Peter asked. Danny chuckled derisively.

"More like what _doesn't_ ," Danny said glaring at the table. "The first time I faced him, he possessed my dad and went crazy; he almost hurt a lot of people and I nearly exposed my identity to stop him."

"Possession!?" Wade shouted, slamming the front legs of his chair down onto the floor. "What is this, The Exorcist?"

"It's not really like that," Danny explained. "Most specters can't possess people, and the ones that can have to have a certain type of host. Vlad is the only specter I've seen that can possess anyone, but that's because he's slimy enough that he doesn't care about who he possess. If someone is spirited enough, they can kick the possession off themselves, but it usually hurts them."

"That's why you didn't want either of us near you earlier today," Peter realized. "You were afraid he would possess one of us."

"Yeah," Danny said, "One of the benefits of being a halfa; other ghosts can't possess you."

"So what's our game plan against someone that can literally hold our bodies hostage?" Wade asked, bringing a combat knife out of his pants pocket and flipping it dexterously in the air; a nervous tick of his own. A chill not unlike his ghost sense went down Danny's spine, and Fido stilled in Danny's arms, feeling his anxiety.

" 'Our?' " Danny echoed as he tensed. "There is no 'our'. There _is no 'we'_. I'm handling Plasmius by myself."

"Danny," Wade interjected, the knife pausing in his hand. "You were practically shaking on the drive here."

"Yeah, well-," Danny replied hotly, "I've always had to learn on a steep curve; I fight ghosts that are stronger than me all the time. I beat him once, I can beat him again."

"Not with your power levels the way they are," Peter commented. "Danny, we're adults; we've faced some pretty powerful enemies ourselves. We can help you."

" _N̜͘ö̞̬́͑̒͜ ̻̼̱̈́̓͠y̞͎̾̃o̢͘u̲̖͕̔̒̽ ̛̖͉̩̅̕͘͢ĉ̗̗̪̱̣̔͋̑͡ā̲͖͎̭̾̽́́ͅn͇̱͙̋̕͘'̨̺̍͘t͕͖͗̃͗͟͞ͅ!̨͎̆̚ "_ Danny shouted as he stood up, arms at his side; Fido cringed and floated toward the middle of the table to give Danny space, making a concerned churr. Danny took a deep breath as he sat down. " You guys don't get it," Danny whispered. "Fighting a ghost is _nothing_ like fighting a metahuman or catching a low time crook, _especially_ Vlad. He doesn't care who he hurts to get what he wants, and what he wants right now is to get at me. He's got all the powers I do and _more_ ; he's smarter and stronger than I am, and he has more experience using his powers in places like these with low ambient ectoplasm. How are you planning to hit something that you might not even see or feel?" It was silent for only a second before Peter spoke up.

"My spider sense," he answered. "I can track him with my spider sense. And he has to be tangible at some point; we just have to catch him off guard."

"You said your parents hunt ghosts for a living," Wade piped in, flicking his knife in the air again. "They bring any of their toys?"

"Wade-!" Peter hissed, but Wade turned and glared Peter down until he backed off.

"Yeah," Danny said hesitantly. "They brought a few."

"Then see if you can hook us up," Wade suggested, then added on quickly with a dark look from Peter, "Or at least get us something to protect ourselves with. You guys have at least figured out ghost repellent, right?"

"All right, so maybe you guys can help," Danny conceded. "Any ideas for a plan?"

"You said this guy has more experience using his powers in places like this," Wade started, pointing his knife a Danny, "That means he under the same rules you are. If he runs out of juice," and here Wade mimed a gun with is other hand, pulling the trigger. "Boom. Hasta la vista."

"Make it an endurance match," Danny exhaled, impressed by Wade's tactics. He didn't realize Wade was so smart.

"Bingo," Wade replied. "And he doesn't know that we're your backup, so we've got the element of surprise."

"We still need to figure out a where and when," Danny stated, "Ghost fights can cause a lot of collateral damage, and I need this fight to stay under the radar if we don't want my parents involved." At the mention of his parents, both Wade and Peter flinched, enough that Fido made a worried sound at them.

"Little Neck Bay," Peter answered, perking up. There's an abandoned shipyard there. It's got some good vantage points I can maneuver from and it's fenced off from the general public."

"We should probably do this later tonight," Wade commented, leaning his chair back. "Less likely you'll be seen and gives us the cover of darkness. Will you be able to swing that?" Danny bit his lip.

"My sister found out about my ghost half a few weeks ago," Danny stated. "She's kind of determined to help out anyway she can with this ghost stuff. If I explain to her what's going on, she'll cover for me, but I might have to mention your alter egos. You guys cool with that?" Peter tensed unhappily while Wade flinched.

"Try not to mention me if you can," Wade replied. "I don't want you getting flack about associating with someone with my less then stellar past."

"You got it," Danny nodded in complete seriousness. "Peter?"

"I'm not happy about it, but if that's what it takes then do it," He answered. "Just keep it as Spider Man only." Danny nodded again and it was silent for a few moments, Fido circling above their heads sporadically.

"What are we going to use as bait to get Mr. Tall and Creepy to the shipyard?" Wade asked, twirling his knife between his fingers.

"Me," Danny replied, crossing his arms uncomfortably. "He may have stalked my family across the country, but he had to find out where my family was staying by tracking my ectosignature."

"Remind me to shove my boot up this creep's ass if I get the chance," Wade muttered darkly. "So what, we just show up at the shipyard and he'll find you?"

"He probably is watching the hotel," Danny replied. "If he spots me leaving late at night, he'll follow me and he'll do it without powers if he wants to conserve energy. We just have to be faster than him."

"I got that covered," Wade said as he put his combat knife away and pulled out his phone.

"Your taxi driver again?" Danny chuckled as Wade punched in a number.

"Hey," Wade whined, "Don't be dissing on my man Dopinder! Best taxi driver in the state!" Danny chuckled again, shaking his head; with how the guy had managed to get them from Briarwood back to the safe house, Danny didn't doubt it - even if the way the guy drove nearly scared Danny out of his remaining life.

"So we're really doing this," Danny breathed, not quite believing it. This would be the first time he had back up that was just as strong, if not stronger than he was; his first hero team up.

"Yep," Peter exhaled loudly. "We're really doing this. Give us a run down on your and Vlad's powers so we now what we're up against." 

* * *

Danny made it back to the hotel around three in the afternoon, lucky enough to catch Jazz in their room before she explored another museum for the day. When he asked her if they could talk, she just blinked and nodded, sitting down on her bed and giving him her undivided attention. He explained the whole situation from the beginning, showing her his Spider Man picture, about why he was eating so much lately, and about Vlad and what he was trying to do. He could tell she didn't quite believe him at first, but the seriousness in his voice and the desperate look on his face persuaded her. In the end, all she had asked was, "What can I do to help?"

With Jazz's assistance, they managed to get into the Ghost RV without their parents knowing and started to collect the items Danny would need. Jazz swiped two anti-possession wrist bands, a few cartridges of the unfiltered ectoplasm that powered most of their parents' tech, and a few empty syringes while Danny grabbed two ectoguns and a handful of long ammo capsules for each for Wade. He would need all of the ammo they could spare if Vlad decided to duplicate.

_(When Wade had heard about the duplication, he had thrown his hands up in aggravation. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! What kind of Gary Stu, OP motherfucker villain is this!")_

They headed back up to their room again, and Jazz helped him with the painful process of injecting himself with one dose of unfiltered ectoplasm. The ectoplasm in his emergency stash was filtered ectoplasm; it had no chemical contaminates and was more volatile than unfiltered ectoplasm, which is why his parents didn't use it for powering their smaller gadgets. If using pure ectoplasm was like taking a shot of adrenaline, unfiltered ectoplasm was like drinking a really bad energy drink; it did the job but it had some side affects. In Danny's case, his ghost half had to clear his body of the chemical impurities in the unfiltered ectoplasm, which in turn made him achy and uncomfortable. The affects would wear off in thirty minutes to an hour depending on how contaminated the dose was and Danny could use it in a pinch, but in general it sucked. To play it safe though, he'd deal with it, as well as bring two more unfiltered doses and what was left of his emergency stash with him to the fight.

As Danny tossed and turned on his hotel bed trying to ride out the affects of the injection, Jazz prepped two other syringes with unfiltered ectoplasm before giving him the pillows from her bed so he could get comfortable. She sat down at his side on his bed, combing a hand through his hair and rubbing his back.

"I'm really proud of you Danny," Jazz said as a Danny twisted to get comfortable. He paused after he rolled onto his back and shot her a questioning look.

"For what?" He asked.

"For a lot of things," Jazz shrugged. "You coming to talk to me instead of trying to go behind my back; asking for help; being responsible. What isn't there to be proud of?" Danny felt something melt a little in his core, and he reached over to wrap his arms around her stomach in a hug. His parents never really said anything beyond a scolding about his grades, even when he managed to bring them back up, and he could tell sometimes that they were disappointed that he didn't take after them. It was nice having someone be proud of him when he was doing the things _that he felt_ were important.

"Mi amas vin, Jazz," Danny whispered as he squeezed her tighter. Jazz didn't speak Esperanto, but she understood the sentiment anyway.

"You too, Danny," She said as she squeezed him back.

* * *

Danny grabbed his backpack full of supplies and headed to the front of the hotel after a quick goodbye hug from Jazz around seven-thirty, just as the sky turned pink and orange as the sun was starting to set. He made sure to hang out on the side walk for a few moments, flaring his core slightly to get Vlad's attention before he spotted Dopinder's taxi and hopped in to the empty back seat; they had decided before Danny went back to the hotel to meet up at the shipyard separately so Vlad wouldn't get a heads up.

"Thanks for driving me, Dopinder," Danny said, shoving his backpack to the other passenger seat and getting comfortable.

"Not a problem," Dopinder replied, pulling away from the curb and easing the car into traffic. "A friend of Mr. Pool's is a friend of mine." Danny chuckled lightly before bringing one of his hands up to his mouth and biting his nails. With how Dopinder normally dove, Danny would have been at the shipyard in fifteen minutes, but they needed to go slow enough for Vlad to follow them; the plan was to lose him when they were nearly at the shipyard, giving Danny enough time to show Wade how to use the ectoguns and hand out the wrist bands before he flared up and led Vlad to their location. That meant they had a least thirty-five minutes until they got to the shipyard, which gave him a lot of time to overthink things and worry. While he tried to relax a little bit, he texted Wade and Peter to let them know he managed to get some of his parents gear.

By the time they made it to the abandoned shipyard, it was nearly eight and the sky was completely dark. Danny grabbed his backpack and got out of the car, swinging by the driver's seat to thank Dopinder before climbing over the fence that surrounded the shipyard as the taxi drove away. A few office building surrounded the shipyard from accross the street and the shipyard was scattered with a handful moving cranes, the metal structures rising into the sky like the ribcage of some giant monster. A few shipping containers laid abandoned and open on one side of the yard while three decrepit warehouses were clustered on the other. A wide pier with some kind of tracks jutted out into the water, littered with holes as seawater rusted away the metal. Puddles of ocean spray were everywhere and the whole place was cool and damp.

Danny peeked inside one of the warehouses as he passed and saw that it was empty except for a few pieces of rotted wood and corroded metal, the roof in the farthest corner collapsing inward. He thought about checking the other warehouses to make sure they were equally empty until he spotted Wade leaning against the center most crane. He was dressed in his Deadpool suit, sans swords like Danny suggested, with a handgun in one of his upper thigh holsters, and facing towards the pier and away from Danny. Danny jogged quietly over to him and called out when he was close enough.

"Wade!" Danny stage whispered. Wade turned to look at him.

"Hey home-, _JESUS CHRIST_ _!_ " Wade yelled and stumbled back from him, gripping his suit over his heart. Danny jumped and turned to look over his shoulder, but nothing was there.

"What?" Danny asked, looking back at Wade, who was leaning his against the crane with his arm.

"Fore once," Wade begged as he caught his breath, "Just once, could you and Peter stop finding new ways of _scaring me_." Danny tilted his head, confused.

"What?" Danny repeated. "What did I do?"

"You've got eye-shine, home slice," Wade replied, digging his phone out of one of his many pockets and showing Danny his reflection on the screen. Instead of black, the pupils of his eyes shined green as it caught the scattered city lights. Danny blinked; he didn't know his eyes could do that.

"Oh," Danny responded, shrugging off his backpack and putting it on the ground, kneeling down to unzip it and bring out the supplies. "That's new. Cool." Wade sighed before dragging a gloved hand over his mask.

"Now that you've filled your daily quota of giving me a heart attack, I think we've got a small problem," Wade said. Danny tensed with his hand still in his backpack and tilted his head to look at Wade -

And there was Fido, hovering over Wade's shoulder and smiling innocently at Danny.

"YOU BROUGHT FIDO!" Danny yelled as he jumped from the ground, his voice cracking as he raised both hands to his hair in distress.

"I knew I was being followed! But it's not like I brought them on purpose, okay!" Wade snapped, clearly upset that Fido was there as well. "It's not like I can lock them in a cage or something!" Danny scrubbed at his hair and started to pace.

"Not good," he moaned, "No no no no no, this is _so_ not good! A stray hit from an ectoblast will destabilize them!" Danny stopped by Wade and grabbed Fido off his shoulder, holding them securely in his hands and bring them to his face. "What are you doing here, buddy? Ĉi tio estas tiel danĝera loko." Fido bumped his head briefly against Danny's forehead before determinedly wiggling out of his grip and floating back over to Wade, clutching on to his neck and shoulder. Danny laced his fingers behind his head and tried not to panic. Both Danny and Wade perked up when they heard the "fwip" of Peter's webs connecting to the crane they were under, and a few seconds later Peter was swinging down besides them.

"Hey guys, what's-," Peter paused before shooting Wade an incredulous look. "Wade, you didn't."

"If by that, you mean bring Fido along to a very dangerous mission; then no, I didn't," Wade deadpanned before throwing his hands up. "He brought himself!" Peter groaned and raised a hand to cover his eyes before turning his attention to Danny.

"Can't you make them go back or something?" Peter asked. Danny shook his head.

"They're determined to stay," Danny sighed. "The most I can do is power them up enough that intangibility is too hard to control and keep them in my backpack."

"Then we'll try that," Peter relented. "But let's get fitted out first. You said you brought some of your parents' gear?" Danny nodded and emptied his bag. He grabbed the anti-possession wrist bands first, handing one to each of them. The devices themselves looked like thick metal wrist bracers with a small button on the side. When both Peter and Wade put them on, Danny pressed the buttons, which lit up green to indicate it was on.

"This will prevent you from getting possessed," Danny stated, "But it won't keep Vlad from touching you. Try to stay away from him if you can." Next, he carefully lifted one of the ectoguns by the muzzle and passed it to Wade.

"Woah," Wade exhaled, handling it with more familiarity and turning it over in his hands. "Your parents made these?"

"You should see their lab," Danny replied, then gestured towards the ectoguns. "These work pretty similarly to a regular gun; the safety is here, sights, trigger, etc." Danny explained, pointing to each; he reached into his bag and grabbed the ammo capsules, holding them up for Wade and Peter to see. "The guns focus concentrated ectoplasm into a beam to replicate an ectoblast; they won't hurt you or Peter too bad, maybe cause a mild burn if you misfire, but they _will_ hurt me so be careful with your aim. These capsules are your ammo; they each have enough ectoplasm to fire off thirteen shots. Once the capsules are empty you'll have to pump this lever here which will open up the magazine. It's spits out the old capsule automatically, so you just have to insert the new one and push it back in." Wade nodded, following along with his instructions to get a feel for it.

"You seem to know a lot about these," Peter commented, inspecting an ammo capsule in his hands. "I thought you didn't like guns?"

"I don't," Danny said, reaching for the rest of the capsules and handing them to Wade. "But that's because most of the time I'm the one getting shot at. My parents wanted me and my sister safe though, so they made sure we knew how to use them." He reached into the bag's front tab for his ectoplasm doses and put them in his pocket, to busy to notice Peter flinch and Wade fumble with the ectogun. "I could only grab twelve capsules," Danny continued, "I didn't want my parents to notice anything off. Sorry I couldn't grab anything for you Peter."

"It's fine," Peter responded, "Thanks for getting what you could." Danny nodded then turned toward Fido, and motioned them forward. Fido reluctantly floated towards Danny's hands.

"All right Fido," Danny started, exhaling an energizing mist over them, making them visible. "It's gonna get real scary here in a few minutes. I need you to stay in my bag and hide, okay. Just stay here and we'll come back to get you when were done. I promise." Danny lowered Fido into his bag, but before he could zip it shut, Fido flew out and dashed back to hide behind Wade while eyeing Danny suspiciously. Danny sighed and hid his face in his hands, nearly bursting into frustrated tears.

"Hold on," Wade said, handing the ectogun to Danny before reaching for the backpack. "I've got an idea." Wade zipped the backpack partially shut, leaving just enough space that the bag was open slightly, and then put one his arms through the straps so that it hung on by his side. He turned to Fido, and held out one of his hands. Fido cautiously landed in Wade's palm, chirping nervously.

"Hey buddy," Wade said softly, patting the backpack with his other hand. "Look at this; a nice little cozy spot just for you. Why don't you go 'head and try it out, then you can hang with me for the rest of the night." Findo curled up on Wade's palm, switching between looking at the backpack and at Wade. Wade carefully and slowly lifted Fido to the lip of the bag and Fido cautiously moved forward to peer inside before quickly backing out again. They made a nervous churr before sliding inside, making sure to keep their head above the lip of the bag. Instead of zipping the backpack closed like Danny thought he would, Wade slipped the other strap on his shoulder and then tightened them both so the backpack was secure before reaching behind him and patting Fido on the head.

"This'll work, right?" Wade asked, while Danny just stood there in shock.

"You want to carry them around?" Danny responded, handing Wade the first and then the second ectogun.

"At least we'll know where they are the whole time," Peter shrugged, crossing his arms. "It's better than hoping they won't wander into trouble."

"All right," Danny exhaled shakily, conceding the point but still hating the idea of Fido being so close to the fight. "Wade, just please-!"

"Don't worry about it, home slice," Wade interrupted, sliding an ectogun into his empty leg holster and putting his hand on Danny's shoulder. "I got them."

"Okay then," Danny gulped. "Let's get this thing started."

* * *

After they had gotten into their positions (Danny on the ground near the old entrance, Wade hiding in the closest warehouse, and Peter sticking to the side of the nearest crane), Danny had transformed in a ring of light; his t-shirt, jeans, and even his shoes changing into his trademark black and white jumpsuit. Peter felt a rush of _something_ over his skin as Danny tensed and glowed slightly before slowly dimming, the process repeating a few times as Danny flared ectoenergy before stopping.

They waited for five tensed filled minutes when Peter's spider sense bloomed like nails raking along his back. Danny's ghost sense flickered as well, and suddenly a _being_ abruptly appeared out of thin air. Vlad, or rather, Plasmius wore a mostly white jumpsuit with black accents, his skin sickly green, and dark hair curled like horns. Danny appeared to talk to him briefly before Plasmius shrugged and lifted his hand, shooting an energy beam from his palm. It blasted Danny back a few yards before he landed on his back on the ground. While Danny struggled to get back up, Wade leaned out of the warehouse to shoot a volley of blasts from an ectogun, a few missing briefly as Wade struggled with the kickback before the next round of shots managed to hit. Plasmius twisted with the force of the blasts before going intangible and stalking toward Wade. Wade ducked back into the warehouse before exiting out of sight using a side door and moved to a new position. 

By that time, Danny had recover and flew back over to Plasmius, knocking him back hard with a ectodshield. Peter saw the moment Plasmius lost his concentration, and intangibility slipped from his fingers. Taking that as his cue, Peter swung down and webbed Plasmius' face, sweeping his legs out from under him while he was confused before Peter webbed himself up to the roof of the warehouse Wade had been using before. Danny used the moment to shoot his own energy beam, but Plasmius phased into the ground before the blast could hit, leaving a smoking char on the ground and Plasmius reappearing a few seconds later.

They had continued this style of fighting for a while; Peter and Wade ambushing Plasmius while Danny continued to keep most of his attention. The tone of the fight shifted when Plasmius duplicated and produced two clones. One of them flew off in Wade's direction and the other headed for Peter, while the original stayed to fight with Danny. Peter swallowed as the vampire-like ghost hovered across from his position on one of the cranes. As much as he hated to admit it, Peter was more worried about Danny and himself than he was about Wade; he and Danny were taking more hits than he would like, but Wade was _deadly_ with any type of gun, not to mention had a head for tactics and unorthodox methodology due to his regeneration.

"There you are, you little pest," Plasmius hissed and raised his hand to shoot an ectoblast. Peter let his spidey sense guide him, twisting out of the path of the ectoblast and around to the opposite side of the crane. He tried dodging another blast by swinging to a different crane when his webbing line was snatched out of the air and he was dragged to the ground. Peter landed on his side and back with a crack, feeling three of his ribs snap cleanly. He howled in pain, arms curling around his injured side before he pushed himself up when his spidey sense raked across his back again. He looked around for a vantage point to swing too, and realized he had been herded toward an empty spot in the shipyard, too far away from the cranes to web to.

"No where for you to run now, Spider," Plasmius goaded, raising his hand again. Peter grimaced as he breathed shallowly with his broken ribs.

"I've been told I'm hard to catch," Peter replied, holding one of his arms out at the ready.

"We'll see," Plasmius smirked, and then disappeared. Peter quickly shut his eyes and blocked out all sensations except touch and hearing. His spidey sense pinged: one, two, three energy beams, left jab to the head, right jab to the chest, upper cut to the stomach. Peter dodged them all until he sensed an opening and struck out, feeling his hit connect and something crunched under his fist. Peter opened his eyes to see Plasmius' head thrown to the side, green ooze dripping down his chin from his broken nose.

"You'll pay for that," Plasmius growled, his eyes glowing a intimidating shade of red as he raised _both_ hands, fingers glowing ominously and energy whining in a high pitched hum.

"Get behind me!" Danny shouted, zooming in from out of no where, planting his feet firmly on the ground, and raising his hands. A green ectoshield dome slammed down just as Plasmius fired, the beams reflecting back at the clone in his surprised face. The clone melted into a puddle of viscous goo as Danny let the shield dissipate, and he gasped for breath as a white ring formed briefly before fading out while falling to a kneel. Peter was instantly at his side, placing his hand on the back of Danny's jumpsuit and hauling him up with just his stickiness and strength before he got his shoulder under Danny's arm. Danny's jumpsuit was littered with melted holes and he had green burn marks on some of his skin, but the most worrying aspect was he looked like he was about to pass out.

"Where's your emergency injection?" Peter asked.

"Fruitloop nicked it," Danny stated, looking both exhausted and positively pissed. They both tensed when they heard the sound of slow clapping as the original Plasmius walked forward.

"I must say, Little Badger, that was quite impressive," Plasmius praised condescendingly, stopping a few feet away. "But you're still so sloppy. So much wasted energy - but don't worry. I can teach you how to be _better_." Peter stepped forward while pushing Danny behind him.

"He seems to be doing pretty fine by himself, thanks," Peter stated. Plasmius snarled at being interrupted.

"Ah, yes," Plasmius replied while charging an energy beam and pointing it at Peter. "The Spider. I'm so terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but your presence is no longer required." Before Plasmius could fire, a green energy beam hit him in his chest from the side, knocking him back a step. All eyes turned to where the beam originated and Wade was walking towards them with the ectogun trained on Plasmius.

"Hiddy ho, neighbor," Wade sang, firing off another shot and hitting Plasmius in the abdomen, then discarding the spent ectoweapon and grabbing his handgun from his thigh holster. "Not to be a bitch or anything, but could you please get the fuck of my lawn?" Wade's suit had a few new holes in it, and he was covered in a mixture of expended ectoplasm and his own blood, though it was difficult to distinguish the blood from his suit. Plasmius turned to glare at Wade, keeping Peter and Danny in his periphery.

"You stupid, vulgar swine!" Plasmius grunted as he shook off the pain from the two ectoblasts. "Do you really think a simple gun can harm me?"

"Nah," Wade grinned, lining his sights with Plasmius' head. "But it'll sure as hell make me feel better!" And he fired. Peter watched in horrified fascination as the bullet tore through Plasmius' face, spraying jelly like ectoplasm in the air before it slowed and then swirled back to his body to reform his face like a particle effect. Wade continued to take pot-shots while walking towards Plasmius, aiming at his legs, groin, chest, and face, and Plasmius walked forward to meet him. While Plasmius was distracted, he tried to drag Danny somewhere away from the fight. Danny refused to budge, trying to aim his hand for an ectoblast, but his hand shook with exhaustion

When Plasmius was finally close enough Wade tried to pistol whip his head, but Plasmius turned his head intangible and then grabbed Wade's neck in one hand and his wrist in the other, pointing the gun downwards before wrenching it out of his grasp. He held the gun up for them to see and the gun turned bright orange as it melted in Plasmius's palm.

"Wow," Wade chocked out as he was lifted off the ground while Plasmius shook the left over molten metal from his hand. "You should have bought me dinner first."

"Your obnoxious and vulgar personality bore me," Plasmius stated in distaste, holding his hand directly to Wade's stomach. "Farewell."

"Vlad!" Danny shouted, lunging toward them but Peter knew he couldn't let Danny go. "Vlad, don't-!" The ectoblast burst through Wade's side, leaving a crater eating two fist sized chunks from his abdomen. Wade yelled as he squirmed in Plasmius' grasp before he was dropped to the ground on his injured side as blood and viscera pooled around him.

" _God damn it, Motherfucker, that stings_ _!_ " Wade howled as he held what was left of his intestines in his abdomen. "When my guts finish reforming, I'm firing a bullet up your ass!" Peter nearly hurled and started to try and pull Danny away, but froze when the prickle in his neck he associated with Danny turned into blades slipping down his spine.

* * *

_I'm dreaming,_ Danny thought dazedly while he absentmindedly clutched at his suit where his core was. _I have to be dreaming_.

Danny had to be dreaming, because Wade was lying on the ground surround by bits and pieces of himself. There was a lake of blood forming around him, filled with little chunks of his kidney and intestines. Strings of skin and connecting tissue were hanging from the outer edges of the hole in his side while blood bubbled out of his body like lava from an active volcano. He could see the rough edges of what was left of Wade's liver and gastric juices leaking out of pieces of his intestine

"Well, well," Vlad said, sickeningly sweet, "Your resilience is quite astounding." Danny threw up slightly in his mouth, realizing Wade was still alive and squirming in agony.

Danny felt as if he was being pulled apart at the seams from the inside out, two opposing forces warring inside him. On the one hand, he was desperately trying to hold onto his ghost form and keep from passing out; on the other, he was pushing back against a tsunami of energy as his core vibrated violently in his chest. His entire being froze when Vlad leaned over Wade in interest.

"What is this?" Vlad asked starting to reach past Wade's shoulder. "A shade?"

Danny's vision whited out and he was drowning as his ghost core overwhelmed his humanity.

* * *

Danny's ghost form rippled before Peter's eyes as Plasmius reached for Fido, the little shade clutching Wade's shoulder protectively. Peter wasn't the only one who felt the change, Plasmius stilling before turning his attention back to Danny. Danny's pale skin bloomed into the same sickening color as Plasmius', his irises turning bright red, and his hair flickering like a white ethereal flame. Danny raised his hands steadily and fired an ectoblast; Plasmius soared with the force of the beam, rolling harshly on the ground a few times before he stopped. Danny flew over to him instantly, his fist glowing with blue energy until it formed a spiked chunk of ice around his hand. He hovered above the ground while he grabbed the front of Plasmius' jumpsuit, hauling him up with surprising strength and flying high into the air before rearing his other hand back and punching Plasmius in the face. One, two, three; Peter flinched with each hit as he rushed to Wade's side, not used to Danny displaying this level violence.

"What's happening?" Wade ground out, trying to sit himself up. Fido trilled nervously and Peter pushed them as gently as he could back into the backpack.

"I don't know," Peter exhaled, grabbing Wade from under his armpit and hoisting him to his feet, making sure to keep his sights trained on Danny. "I don't have a fucking clue, Wade," Danny's beat down on Plasmius stopped for a moment, the ice on his fist dissolving; we're they talking again? It was still for a few moments before Danny tensed and gripped Plasmius's jumpsuit with his free hand, dragging Plasmius close as he whispered something. And then Danny _screamed_.

* * *

Danny wasn't quite sure what was happening; one moment he was on the ground by Peter, the next he was up in the air with Vlad's suit clenched in one of his hands. _What was he doing just now_ _?_

"My," Vlad ground out, spitting ectoplasmic blood on his chin, his eye swollen in pink. "That's quite a look you've got little badger." Danny flinched when he finally _felt and remembered._ His ghost core had bloomed outward from his chest, the need to protect Fido - and Peter, and Wa _de, Tuc **ker, Sam, Mo m, Dad, Jazz!**_\- overwhelming and stifling the humanity his usually carried in his ghost form.

 _No,_ Danny begged trying to contain his energy. _No, no, please! Change back! Change back!_

"See now, Little Badger," Vlad continued, his tone beseeching and almost soft, "We aren't so different after all."

"I am nothing like you," Danny hissed, forcefully dissolving the ice that had formed on his hand. Vlad narrowed his eyes.

"That is easily corrected, Daniel," Vlad suggested darkly, his eyes glancing down and Peter and Wade. "I'll I have to do is get rid of your pathetic friends-!" Danny tensed, clenching Vlad's jumpsuit tighter.

" _Don't touch them!"_ Danny growled.

"Hah!" Vlad laughed, "Or you'll what, Daniel? Kill me?" Danny narrowed his eyes, grabbing Vlad's jumpsuit with his free hand to drag his face closer.

"No," Danny whispered in Vlad's face. "I'll _scream._ " He clutched Vlad's jumpsuit securely in his hands, leaned back, drew in a huge breath, and closed his eyes.

And then he screamed.

L̨̛̟̟̘͈̪͎̫͇͔̟͍͍͑͗̃̔̅͂̐͆̔̓̕͟͡e̢̢̡̛̩̫̟̣̺̙̥̟̣̲͚̝̠̺̮̤͉̮͂̏̄̎͂͒͂̈́͌͆̾̓̽͒̃̐̐̈̆̔̉̚͟͜͡ͅͅͅả̡̧̯̤̞̤̪͖̯̲͔͈͕̣̻̱̦͚̆̉̃͗̌̓̔̋̋̆͒͆̅͋̓͛̑̎͟͡ͅv̧̧͙̘̤̣̻͇͕͖̱̳͉̩̰͙͈̰̩͉̗̞̝͂̏́̆̄̄̂͆̃̏̋̌͊̂̈́̔̈̂̄̎͆̕͢͢͡͞ͅę̛̝͓̘̰̱̣̞̘͔̲̭̱̲̩̠̓̋͑̈͌̓̈́̓̓͂̉́̉̄͆̍͋͢͢͡ͅ ̨̡̛̼̝̗̩̬͔̰̦̼͇̗̝̜̱͓̖̜̬̝̫́̇̌̊̋̂̌͐̏̌̒̾͆̏͒͒͂̅̄̅͋̂̇̔͘͘͢͟͢ͅͅm̧̧̛̙̪̪̥̣̻̱̖̭̗̝̥̻̣̦̘̪͎̭͚̎͐͐̐͆͂͛́̏͂̎̓̈́͆̆̇͐̈̇̓͊͘̚͟͢͜͟͠͠͡͝ͅͅỵ̢̨͙̠͙̫̼̞̙̘̹͍̩̫̠̪͇̍̎̒͆̒̅́͌̽́̋̽͂͊́͐̓̈́̕̕̚͜͜ͅ ̧̡͈̳̜̭̫̩̞̟̹̼̜͓͓̝̦̣̪͇̩̻̭̠̟͍̫̣̮̹̮̮͎̙̆̓̋̂̀̉͒̍͂͋̍̈͂̑͑͛́̄̏̅͌̐͊͗̏̉̌̔͋̕͘̚̕̕̕͟͜͢͞ͅf̧̛̮͍͓̼͎̞̱̜͓̻̠̲͈͈͚͔̳̹̮̱̝̗͖̫̲̟͖͚͙͓̖̥̞̍̄̏̓̀̈́̃̂̌́̍̓̎́̐̀͒̾̾̄͋̋̑̈͐̑͗̋́̒̐̈̕͜͜͜͟͢͟͝͠͠͡͡r̡̢̧͓̺̦͇͙̦͓̖͕̤̙͕̝̗̠̺̤͈͖̲͙͚͇̪͎̘̔͋̆̇͋̅̾͒̒̔̈́̔̇͒͆̐͒͗͗̈̾̈͛̾͘͘͘̚͢͢͜͠͠͞͡ͅͅͅi̢͖̖̞̠͖͓͈͕̻͓̳̫̠̪̙͖͙̩̩̼̣̹͗̃̔͐̓̂̾̆͂̎͊̋̐̏͒̑̊̾̔̐̂̉̒͘̚͜͢͜͝͡ͅͅe̢̨̧̡̧̛̛̻͔̠̪͈̹̭̰̳̳̖̳̠̘̞̝͙̠̹̺̞͙̲̣̺̬̻͔͓͓̱͉̘͍̪̦̪̹͇͉͗̄̐̈́̉͛̅͋̓͂̈́̔̂̊͐͊̾̔̔̔͌̊̊͊̈͊̏̔̃̌̃̏̒̄̅̈́̍̈̀͛̚̕͟͜͜͞͡ͅn̨̬̙̟̩̞͓͈͕̼̱̰͕͖̽̔̌̆̌̈̒̿̏̒̋̔͗̔ͅd̡̧̻̭̳͇̘̖͓̼͈͇̲͖͔̗͚̞͕̞̜̟͇̖͇̣̮̗̜͈̤̺͈̘̼̑̄̊͛̉̊̍̽̽̓̉͂̍͑͑̓͒͋͗͗̔̅͑̋̓̎̉̉̈̂͛̕͟͜͝͞s̨̨̧̛̪̯̺̠̠͈̺̪͉̩̮̱̰̮̤̳̟̰̦̞͕̬̥̮͂̀̐͌̆̈̉͊͂̊̒͛̏́̆̉͑̉̑͒̂͘͘͜͢͝ ̛̣͍̰̻̯͕͙͎̹͓̭͍̼̭̖̘̮̺̙̤͙̐̈́̎̔̉̄̐͑͆̽͋̈̂̋̓̉̑̚͘̚͜͜͝͞ą̢̨̛̛̳͙̥̱̦̰̜͚͍͈̼͙̱͔̹͓̞͖̫̳̱͙͖̞͖͇̱̟̤͍̥͛̋͂̍̎̍̾͗̄̋̄̽̍̋́̓͋̋̐̏͒̽̓̚̚̕̚̕͟͢͡͠͡͞͠͡ͅn̢̨̢̡̢̧̠̜̤̩̮̟͔̣̳̩̖̬͔̘̠̩̱̻͉͎̉̽́̉͐̏͌̓̾̇̃̓̄̍̍̎͒̀͋̎̎͂̒̈́̄̄͑͘͟͜͜͜͢͡͠͝͝ͅḑ̻̼̭͔̗̝̣̩̤̻͇͎̮̖͎̘͍͎͓͈̞̖͈̞̓͋̾̊̽̑̽̽̑̋͊̀͊̄́̔̓̈̃̍̄̿͋͘̕͟͜͢͡͠ ̨̡̧̢̨̨̧̡̡̛̛̛̛̥̱͍̝̙̦̤̮̥͍̖̖͙̮̰͍̞͇̦͍̼͉̱̫͓͈̠̳̓́̿̃̋̉̓̓͒͋̄̐̆̎̽͐̇͑̋̂̈́̑̉̔̿͋̅̕͘͘͘͜͢͟͡͞͡͞f̛̟̰͙̥̹̭̙̭̪͚͚̳̲̘̖̙̺̪̠̝̲͈̫̟̍̇̅̃͑̀̔̑͋̑̒̎̅̈͐̈́̃͐̕̕̕͡͝ͅa̡̢̢̝͇͔͈̳̠͇͈̹̩̮̞͖̠͖͕̲̣͒̃̋͌͐̓̒̏̒̿͐̌͊̏̈͊̿̐̉́̕̕͟͟͟͟͜͝͡͝ͅm̨̧̦̼͍͕̹̤̘̬͇̮̯̮̱̩͚͚̘̬̝̜̮̲̳͖̰̞̱̣̦͓͍̞̎͌̔̀̃̃͒̏͌̀̆̀̆̔͆̃̅̊̽̒͋̏͗̈͆̌̿̎̆̃̔̊͟͠͝ͅͅi̡̡̡̝̪͔̪͚͓͚̯̹̯̰̗͎̬͍̠͚̯̣͓̐̉̒̽̾̔̇̂̈́̃̂̔̀̍̓͒͑̽̏͑͜͢͢͡͡͞͠ļ̨̨͎̞̜̖̥̠̜̪͇̘̻̦̺͈̦̰͎̦͉͓̦͕̠͚͍͎̣̣̩͙̭̍͒̋̅̄͋̈̒̃͐̋̅͆̋͛́̓̃̊̌́͛͒̍̀͑͂͛̈́̄̅̉̓̊̓͜͟͢͟͡͞y̢̛̤̞͇̫̳͉̟̭̣͙͇̜̯͙̠͉̞̗̣͉͖̓̉̑̒̉̔̊̽͑̽̊̋̀̇̌͑̒͑̒̽͒͘͟͟͜͟͞͞͠ ̨̡̛̜̥̥̭̞̮̺̩͔͉͍̹͙͍̲̰̠̝̲̘̗̩͔̟̖̺̬̼̪͖͚͇̏̃̇͊̍̆̔͌̊̓̒͐̇͋͗̇̈̿̍̑͆̊͗̃̓̀͛̈́͗͌̄̔̒͘̕̚͜͟͜͢͠͞ͅͅä̢̢̨̧̖̫̜̠̣̼͓̫̥̘̯͚̖̪̮͓̯͈͕̘̮̺͖̺̻̯̹͎̇̍͐̊̅͛͒̐̓̈́͗̽̒̈́̉͋͐̇̿͗̾̄̿́̎̕͘͟͟͢͜͞͝͝͝͝͝͠͠ľ̛̯̫̼̝̪͉͕̝̱̹͇̟͈͍͈͇̑̄̾̊̎̋̔͋́͒̉̎̀̄̕͜͟͞õ̢̧̖̣̬̲͇̻̖̻̩͓̭̹̱̭̘̝͎̩̱̯̞̬͗̾̉͗͐̐̐͐̌̇̋̇̾͆̆̂͂̔̃̋͆̕͘n̡̧̨̢̛̤͎̜̥̙͎̩͔̙͕̺͉̠̫̻̺̯͎̗̻͎͕̯̹͓͕͚̩̹̣̭̹̦̂̃̉̏́̋̆̿̂͌̓̔́̄̋̓̇̇̔͑͒̈́͊̀̆͋̓̋̓͋̾͘͘͘͟͡͡ȩ͙̭̩̼̫͚̖̭̞̟͍̎̀̅͋͌̀̃̑̌̊̚̚͢͡!̨̨̛̟̲̘̪͎͇͈̠͈̝͍̲̬͙̠̮͚̦̳̺̞̱̗̩̫̗̘͍̺̱̖̝̂͋͑̑͂́̍͂̒̍͆͛̈̈̉̏̇̋̇̈̒̀̋͑͒̆͂̃̿̓̍̇̕͟͟͢͟͢͠͡

The force of his ghostly wail sheared off the ectoplasm of Vlad's ghost form like scrapping a knife across butter, leaving him dangling as a human in Danny's clenched hands. There was the distant sound of glass shattering, and car alarms were blaring a few blocks away as lights started to turn on in buildings. Danny rapidly descended back to the ground and threw Vlad to the concrete and stumbled. He went to his knees as he heaved for breath as his ghost core receded due to the power depletion, his humanity returning him to his normal ghost form before a ring of electricity appeared at his waist and turned him back. Danny coughed, getting on his feet to check on Vlad. Vlad moaned on the concrete, turning over on his back and stared at Danny in disbelief.

"New deal, Vlad," Danny stated harshly, using all of his strength of stay upright. "You go near my family; you hurt my friends _ever_ again, and I won't just reveal our identities to my parents. _I'll expose it to the world_. I'll bring your empire crashing down on you, and my parents will hunt you down for the rest of your _life_. Your choice." Vlad grit his teeth, and nodded. Danny panted, falling backwards as he passed out.

* * *

Danny woke up on a soft bed, a sheet and a thin blanket pulled over his chest. He blinked at the light on the ceiling before glancing over to his right, recognizing the bureau from the second bedroom in Wade's safe house.

 _Wade!!!_ Danny seized, trying to swing himself out of bed when his entire body screamed in agony. He fell back on the bed, curling on his side as all his muscled ached when he moved.

"Danny! Danny, relax! It's okay, your safe," Peter said from his left, gently grabbing his shoulders and sitting him up against the headboard.

"Wade," Danny whispered weakly, grabbing desperately at Peter's wrists. "How's Wade? Is he all right? Where's Fido?"

"Fine!" Peter answered, rubbing his shoulders before sitting back down in one of the kitchen chairs, "Everyone is fine. Wade stepped out to get food, and Fido's right here." At the mention of their name, Fido barreled into Danny chest, wailing tiny cries of worry. They formed stubby arms to grip at Danny's chest in a hug and rubbed their face into his shirt.

"But-," Danny gasped, cradling Fido in one hand, the other clenched in the blanket. "But I saw-! I saw-!"

"I know," Peter said softly, trying to soothe him. "I know. But Danny, Wade has an amazing regenerative mutation. He can heal from anything; I've seen it. Believe me, he's fine."

"Oh, thank god," Danny sagged in relief, and then cringed as his muscles convulsed. "Why does it feel like I've been run over by a truck?

"You mean besides the fight we just won?" Peter chuckled leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah," Danny smiled, petting Fido as they chirped into his chest. "Besides the fight we just won."

"Fido found two of your ectoplasm doses while we were leaving the shipyard," Peter replied, "You mentioned that sometimes they cause muscle pain, right?"

"Yeah, I did.Thank you Fido," Danny said, and Fido churred happily, vibrating slightly. "I was wondering why I wasn't gnawing on the mattress when I woke up."

"Honestly," Peter laughed, "I was worried about the same thing." Danny chuckled, bringing his other hand up to scratch under Fido's chin and the shade twittered happily. It was silent for a moment, and Danny tensed as the atmosphere became strained.

"What happened back at the shipyard Danny?" Peter asked calmly, crossing his arms over his chest. Danny froze before hunching over Fido, bringing his knees to his chest and hiding his face.

"I don't know," Danny whispered, starting to breath heavily. "I just saw Vlad reaching for Fido, and I thought he was going to hurt them. It felt like my ghost core flooded my entire body. Peter, I _blacked out_. I don't remember parts of the fight."

"Danny-," Peter said, leaning forward and trying to calm him down, but it was as if Danny couldn't hear him.

"That's never happened to me before," Danny exhaled with panicked breaths, his eyes glazing over and Fido whined at his distress. "It was like I lost control-, lost control of everything. Peter, _you have to believe me,_ this has never happened before! I don't know what happened! I don't know, I don't _know_ -!"

"Danny!" Peter exclaimed, jumping up to sit on the bed with him. "Danny, hey, it's all right! It's okay. Can you look at me for a second?" Danny shook his head while he trembled, heaving breaths as he started to hyperventilate. "Okay, that's fine," Peter said softly, "Would it be all right if I touched you? Can I give you a hug?" Danny nodded and he was engulfed in Peter's arms, his face pressed into shoulder as breath stuttered. "Good-, that's good Danny. Try to relax. Take a deep breath. There you go, you're doing great." They stayed that way for a few minutes, Fido squished between Danny's knees and chest, and Peter wrapped around Danny like a shield as he continued to calm down. Once Danny had settled, Peter pulled himself back to give Danny some space but he stayed seated on the bed with his hands on Danny's shoulders.

"Danny," Peter asked, "Can you look at me, please?" Danny lifted his head, and looked at Pete through his fringe. "I'm going to tell you something important, okay, and I want you to listen. It's okay that you lost control -, no, listen to me Danny. You were stressed out and overwhelmed; it's normal for people to panic in situations like that. You were afraid that Plasmius was going to hurt Fido and you stopped it. So you lost control; but the most important thing is, _you got it back. You got it back, Danny_." Danny's breath froze before it hitched and he slumped forward into Peter's chest again, reaching up to clench his shirt in his hands.

"I was so scared," Danny whispered. "I was _so scared, Peter!_ "

"Shh," Peter whispered back, "It's all right Danny. You'll be all right." In the warm comfort of Peter's arms, Danny nodded as he sniffled into Peter's shoulder.

**Author's Note:**

> Danny: I'm being followed.  
> Peter: *Activates instant kill*  
> Wade: Where can I hide the body?  
> XD
> 
> Also, just to put this out there, I've only ever ridden on the Boston Subway/Train system. I had to do research for the more detailed subway scene b/c I wasn't sure it worked the same XC
> 
> I've read a lot of fanfics where Danny's obsession is being a hero, but I thought it would be a bit more interesting if he was obsessed with protecting his family and friends instead :)
> 
> But holy crap, this one really took me for a ride. Hope you guys enjoy it!


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